Albury Council deems expansion of Wilson Street car park unviable

The Albury Council had been considering building another two levels to the three-storied car park which would have added 200 spots for vehicles.

The city's chief financial officer Justin Finlayson was asked about the extension at the council meeting on May 22, 2023 by councillor Jess Kellahan after the agenda noted a $106,000 increase in feasibility and design costs.

He said the result of the study was that it was not viable to go higher.

The Border Mail then submitted questions about the findings of the report and future car parking plans.

The council's service leader city projects Andrew Lawson provided a statement.

"The feasibility study found that increasing the number of levels on the existing Wilson Street structure would not be possible due to significant cost and limited parking benefits," Mr Lawson said.

A follow-up query about whether structural issues with the car park, as well as funding, contributed to the outcome, was unable to be answered on the basis more information could not be provided because the matter had not been fully reported to councillors.

Mr Lawson did say other options for car parking were being considered.

"A number of alternative locations are being investigated in line with recommendations in the CBD Parking Strategy, and the draft MOVE: Albury Wodonga Integrated Transport Strategy will also investigate parking needs within Albury and will go on public exhibition later this year," Mr Lawson said.

In 2019 when the Wilson Street expansion was raised, then mayor Kevin Mack questioned whether more storeys were needed when the nearby 558-bay SS&A car park was not full during working hours.

The Wilson Street car park, which has walkways through to Swift and Kiewa streets, has 343 all-day parking spaces, with some of those on the ground level reserved for businesses.

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